


Heated Discussions

by Daphnean



Series: My EXO Challenge [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Domestic, Domestic Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-08-16 12:37:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8102683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daphnean/pseuds/Daphnean
Summary: A fight over the thermostat leaves Zitao wondering if he and Joonmyun need to discuss something more than just the temperature.





	

Day five of the war started as all the previous ones before it had; with Zitao waking up sweaty and agitated, kicking the blanket off his legs with a huff as he loudly made his way to the shower. He made sure he slammed the door in a sufficiently obnoxious manner for it being four-thirty in the morning and began his daily routine by singing girl group songs at the top of his lungs into the shower head and knocking over shampoo bottles. If he wasn’t allowed a good night’s sleep because his tiny boyfriend was cold natured, then Joonmyun wasn’t allowed to have an extra hour before he got up and fixed his herbal tea before heading to work at the consulting firm.

He heard the door open and could almost feel Joonmyun’s glare through the shower curtain. The acknowledgement only steeled his resolve as he rinsed his lavender conditioner from his hair. By the end of the week Zitao would have the temperature in this apartment back below 27°C.

“You’re being childish.” Joonmyun’s voice was still thick with sleep.

Zitao snorted, pushing back the shower curtain and grabbing his towel from the rack, “Says the man who used the argument that the apartment is in his name as a means of silencing my opinion.”

Joonmyun’s hair stuck up in the back and his sleep shirt was wrinkled. There was toothpaste on the corner of his mouth. “I could just turn the air off all together. It isn’t healthy to have such a cold environment, especially when sleeping.”

Rather than look at him any longer, Zitao focused on toweling his hair dry. “You run around in sweaters during the summer, hyung. If your blood was any thinner it’d be on the runway. I don’t think it has to feel like Frozen in here, but when I think shoving my head in the oven might be cooler than our apartment, perhaps we should figure out a better option.”

“Tao, that’s beyond exaggerating,” Joonmyun’s voice was patronizing, breathy in exasperation as he turned his attention back to the mirror and opened the medicine cabinet.

“There you go again. You don’t have to make me feel like a child when we disagree. People on other continents could pick that up from your tone.” He made Joonmyun scoot over with a bump to his hip, grabbing his own array of face products as they shared the mirror.

With a sigh, Joonmyun met his gaze through the mirror. “You know that isn’t my intention. I’m not doing this to be the big, bad boyfriend. I just don’t think this is unreasonable. You still insist on using the heaviest blanket where as I started to wear a thicker sweater and nightpants to bed. If you want to talk about compromise how about you act like it instead of pouting and whining around in a way that isn’t a discussion but a temper tantrum.”

“This isn’t one of your meetings.” Zitao felt it was way too early to be having this argument for the hundredth time since Monday, when the thermostat law was put into action. “I’m not your client.”

He didn’t look back as he seethed out of the bathroom, getting dressed in jerky, aggressive tugs of fabric and jewelry. Sehun wasn’t supposed to meet him for another seven hours, but if he stayed any longer he knew that he’d end up spitting more acid than valid argument at his boyfriend. Grabbing an energy bar from the kitchen, he was about to tug his shoes on when he felt a hand at his elbow. 

When he turned, Joonmyun was in his button down and slacks, green tie hanging undone around his neck. There was frustration in his gaze, the tightness of his mouth, but his words were still sincere. “Have a good day today.”

Zitao leaned down, brushing their lips together. “You too.”

\--

Sehun sipped his bubble tea, eyebrows a flatline and expression blank. Zitao knew this was his listening face and also his ignoring face, so he prodded the other man with his foot beneath the table to invoke a reaction.

“Don’t you think this is ridiculous?” he goaded, his own bubble tea condensating beside him.

Making an obnoxious “ah” as he popped the straw from his mouth, Sehun shrugged. “I think you dating Joonmyun-hyung is ridiculous, but this in itself is pretty typical. Have you seen his Christmas sweater collection? Or how he dances? Or for that matter-”

“Why am I even friends with you?” Zitao hissed, finally taking a drink.

“We don’t have time for me to answer that question. You also don’t want me to tell you what I think of this whole situation,” Sehun pushed some hair from his forehead, “but I will anyways. You both obviously still love each other. You both are unhappy. Instead of talking about it like most normal human beings, you instead bicker and seethe and stomp around. And instead of taking that energy and devoting it to glorious angry sex, you instead whine to your coworkers and don’t get shit done to fix your problem.”

Zitao only blinked in response, chewing on a tapioca pearl thoughtfully. “I’d die of heatstroke before he even got his pants off.”

“That’s what you took from that whole spiel?” Sehun’s expression shifted from blank to annoyed.

“I just…this is what always happens when we disagree. Oh silly little TaoTao, poor thing let me tell you how grownups deal with things.” Zitao sat his drink down, staring at one of the crumpled napkins in the middle of the table. “I don’t feel like he sees me as an equal.”

Sehun was silent for a moment. The café continued to pulse around them with conversation and the tinkling of the bell at the door. Zitao didn’t want to keep thinking about what he said, think about how his relationship with Joonmyun was suffering from this fight.

“So this doesn’t have anything to do with the thermostat-no, let me finish. Maybe it does a little bit because you’re a whiner, but what this really is about is you being upset that you and Joonmyun-hyung after almost two years of dating still don’t communicate well.”

Sehun’s other default expression was a knowing smirk, and he utilized it now, fingers drumming on the table.

Zitao crumbled. He played with one of the rings on his fingers, the one with the amethyst cabochon that Joonmyun had bought for him for his birthday last year as he finally spoke up, “He’s successful. And older. He’s handsome and charming. I’m just a dropout and stylist.”

Sehun made an affirmative sound at the back of his throat and shrugged again. “Your lack of confidence is more of a problem in this relationship than the fucking temperature.”

There was nothing worse than Sehun being right. There was also nothing worse than when Zitao deflated from his anger and realized he had to think about his problems. The way he saw his boyfriend wasn’t always the healthiest. Nor was how he saw himself. Still, he had far too much pride. Just surrendering in this battle meant he had to acknowledge all of this. It meant a longer discussion than just an apology. It meant Joonmyun on the couch, playing with the sleeves of his sweater as he asked about their feelings. Zitao very easily brought so many emotions to the surface that it kept most people from inspecting him further. Joonmyun always knew better.

“Maybe I should have become a shrink,” Sehun mused after a moment, playing with his straw.

“Our friendship is over,” Zitao stood up, "but thank you.”

He didn’t stick around to hear the rest of Sehun’s gloating. Nor did he look at his phone to see the messages stating the same.

\--

Zitao was in a sleeveless shirt and shorts, folding laundry by the time Joonmyun made it home that evening. By the cautious way the older man padded into the room, Zitao knew that something was going to give tonight. It made his stomach twist with anxiety, his mouth go dry. When he finally looked up, Joonmyun was in just his button down shirt and slacks, tie and jacket across the back of the chair near the couch. Zitao gave a weak smile and focused on carefully folding another pair of boxers.

“I don’t like us fighting like this,” Joonmyun began softly, “So-”

“No.” Zitao looked up, a pair of gray boxers twisted in his hands. “No, we’re not just going to let you give in to me. Instead we’re going to actually find a way for us both not to be miserable in our own apartment.”

Joonmyun sighed, rubbing at his temples. “I had asked you for a compromise before, Tao.”

“No, you told me we would. You also told me you didn’t mean to make me feel bad but then proceeded to use a tone and language that continued to keep me in that place. Maybe when you do that with Kyungsoo or Jongdae they fight back, but they don’t have the insecurities I do. They don’t doubt themselves like I do or feel like a stupid kid like I do,” he sat down beside the laundry, closing his eyes.

Joonmyun didn’t sit beside him right away, but after a moment, Zitao felt the dip of the couch and a hand on his knee.

He still didn’t open his eyes, but words kept spilling out of him, “And that’s not your fault either. Hyung, I love you. I don’t like us fighting, but I don’t know how to stop feeling like I’m nothing beside you. I go out to drink with you and your friends and I feel like I can hear them whisper when I go to the bathroom. I see them wonder if I’m a mid-life crisis.”

Joonmyun bristled, lips curled into an almost pout. “I’m not that old.”

Zitao gave a weak little laugh, looking at him, his voice wavering as he spoke, “Hyung.”

“I know. That’s not...that’s not the point. I look back on what I say to you sometimes and I just want to push the words back down my throat. I see you shrink down and I just wonder why I did that. I go to work and I know exactly what to say; the always perfect Mr. Kim. I let go with you and then I just forget to think. As if you know me so well you can read my thoughts, understand that when I vent it is because I had a shit day at work and just need to take the edge off,” Joonmyun’s voice grew softer and he went to pull his hand away.

Zitao linked their fingers instead. “Do you see me as a child?”

“No. God, no, Zitao that would be disgusting,” Joonmyun’s brows furrowed, “but sometimes I also don’t see how I treat you like one. When you call me out I just...I don’t want to believe I did that to you.”

“Then we make a deal. I promise to try to not think so little of myself. And you try and listen to me, listen to yourself more.” Zitao squeezed his hand.

Joonmyun shook his head. “I also want to remind you more often how special you are to me. I knew you were insecure, but I had no idea it was so bad. I’m sorry I haven’t seen it before.”

“You’re not sorry about the thermostat?” Zitao grinned, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

“No,” Joonmyun turned and brushed their lips instead, “I am always freezing in here and we do need to do something about it.”

Zitao brought his hand up to his cheek, lips parting softly with the lazy kiss.

“I could warm you up other ways,” he let his voice go into a lower register, thumb brushing over the older man’s cheek.

“Zitao,” Joonmyun nipped his lip in warning, “are you really going to use sex to try and persuade me?”

Another kiss and then he finally pulled back, fingers trailing down Joonmyun’s neck. “Turn the temperature down two degrees and I’ll start using the lighter blanket. Using sex to convince you is cheating. I want to win this without using underhanded tactics.”

Joonmyun snorted, “Underhanded.”

“Who’s being the child now?” Zitao teased, grin stretching over his lips. “I think it is reasonable.”

The way Joonmyun’s eyes shined up at him said enough, but the confirmation made the tension in his chest soothe. “You’re right. If not, we’ll figure out another way. But in return, more of this. More talking like this. More kissing like this.”

“More of me in tank tops?” Zitao added.

Joonmyun chuckled in response, leaning in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> EXO and all other Kpop entertainers presented here are real people and so I remind you that this is just a fic, like a play with their stage personas as the actors. This is not intended to be a representation of who these men and women are or are not. Remember to love and respect them always. And thanks for reading! <3


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